Hinge



Jan. 16, 1945. 5.13,, CQ 2,367,205

- HINGE Filed 001?. 22, 1943 INVEN I SIDNEY T.V. EN

- BY Wan. I

Patented Jan. 16, 1945 UNITED STATES IPATENT OFFICE I fi'm w I HINGE v 'Sidney' TLV. Cowen, Asbury'Park, N. J. A ucauonoet b r 22,1943, Serial No. 507,253

' 4Claims. (o1. 16-1'79).,

(Granted under the act of "March 3, 1883, as

, amended April 30, 1928 370 O. G. 757) The inventiondescribed herein may 'be-manw' factured and used by or for the Government for governmental purposes, without the-payment to I meof any royalty thereon. v

"The present invention relatesto hinges.

Ordinarily the parts of'a structurejoinedby a hinge are offset so as not to bein the same plane, when in one 01' more-operative positions. 'For example,"some-type or electronic testing instruments are carried in boxes which'have downwardly swinging, front walls, hinged at their lower edges. When using such an instrument, the front wall is droppedto a horizontal position and used as a work desk. Dropping the front wallfc'auses the front edge ofjthebottom 'of' the boxito be raised an amount equal tothe thicknessjof the frontwall. Hence the frontwal1 isnot'ther'i coplanar with the bottom of the 'boxfwith'the result'that the box itself and the instrumentwith in it are slightly angulated backwards, sometimes adversely affecting theoperation of jtheinstrument, g 4 H It'is an object of the present invention to 'provide, a'hinge which will allow the parts joined thereby to be disposed in the sam plane where they would beoffset if ordinary hinges were used.

This is accomplished by providingaichannel, instead of an ordinary bearing, for the hinge pintle to ride in, whereby'the axis of rotation ofthe pintle may be displaced to compensate for the offset.

'Also, hinges usually have objectionable pro-. tuberances extending beyond the surfaces of the parts joined thereby. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a hinge which is free from such protuberances'in'each of its operative positions.

As'hinge fastenings have a facility for pulling out, particularly when the strain isat right angles to the fastenings, I have endeavored to correct this fault in my present invention.

A hinge, according tojmy present invention, may be used on an instrument box as mentioned above, with the result. that the box would be maintained level ,at all times and there would be no projections, either outside or inside the box,

I whether the box is open or closed, and there would be little likelihood of pulling out fastenmgs.

the drawing, Figure l is a fragmentary, exploded, isometric view of my hinge in use on a box, having a front wall hinged, at its lower edge, to the bottom of the box; the front wall being shown in its horizontal, open position and the front'wall and bottom of the box beingshown in phantom.

Figure 2 is a vertical cross section, along the line 2-2 of Figure 1, the parts being shown joined together in operative engagement.

Figure 3 is a View similar to Figure 2, except that the front wall is shown in its vertical, closed position. r

The drawing shows fragments of the bottom I and the front wall 30f a boxjoined by a hinge embodying my invention. The hinge comprises the pintle'member 5 and the channel member I, both of which are of metal.

Thepintle member 5 has a rectangularflat body portion 9, provided with counter-sunk screw holes III and a convolute tongue I I extending from one edge of the body. portion 9, intermediate the ends. thereof. Said tongue I I, which tapers in "thickness toward its outer end I3, makes one complete turn about a pintle I5 and is firmly-secured thereto, as by welding. The pintle I5 is a cylindrical pin, its ends extending beyond the convolute edges of the tongue I I. Th body portion El of the, pintle member I5 is recessed flush into the upper surface of the bottom I of the box aforesaid, the tongue I I and the pintle I5 extending forward beyond the front edge of the bottom I.' 1

The channel member 'I is a rectangular plate which has been bent into the form of a J, in cross section, so as to form a long arm I! and a short arm IS, which are parallel to each other and are joined by a base plate 2|, at right angles to both arms. The channel member I is recessed flush into the lower edge of the front wall 3 of the box and extends flush up the inner and outer surfaces The channel member I is pro ofthe said wall. vided with a' rectangular channeln, which is intermediate the ends thereof, is slightly greater in width than the tongue II and extends across part of the base plate 2| and up part of the long arm H. The long arm I! and the short arm I9 are provided with countersunk screw holes 25.

In operative engagement, the tongue II extends through the channel 23 so that the body portion 9 is outsidethe J shaped channel member I and the ends of the pintle I5 are inside said channel member I and abut against the inner surface thereof. The front wall 3 is sufficiently recessed behind the channel member I so as to allow the pintle I5 and the tongue I I to slide freely along the length of the channel 23.

When the front wall 3 is in its vertical closed position the pint1e.l5 and tongue II are at the upper end of the channel 23 (Figure 3), the lower edge of the front wall 3 being level with the lower surface of the bottom I of the box. When the front wall 3 is opened to its horizontal position, it is first pulled upward so that the pintle I5 and tongue ll slide to the lower end of the channel 23, whereupon the front wall 3 may be swung open. When in its open position (Figure 2) the front wall 3 and bottom I are in the same plane and hence the bottom I is not angulated.

The short arm I9 takes any strains on the long arm ll, normal to its plane and prevents the loosening of fastenings in the long arm l'l.

Although this invention has been disclosed with reference to a specific embodiment, it is apparent that the inventive concept may find other embodiments and uses.

I claim:

1. A hinge to swingably fasten the lower edge of a vertical wall of a box to the horizontal bottom of said box, comprising a pintle member; and a channel member; said pintle member including a body portion recessed into the upper surface of said bottom and secured to said bottom, and a horizontally extending tongue, said tongue sustaining a horizontally disposed pintle; said channel member being recessed into the inner surface and lower edge of the wall aforesaid and secured to said wall, said channel member being provided with a channel along said inner surface and lower edge; the tongue extending through said channel, the body portion aforesaid being on one side of said channel member and the pintle being on the other; the pintle and tongue being at substantially the upper end of said channel and, the lower edge of the wall being in the same plane as the lower surface of the bottom, when the wall is in its vertical position; the wall being swingable downwardly to a horizontal position, in which position the pintle is at substantially the other end of said channel and the outer surface of the wall and the lower surface of the bottom are in the same ,plane; the hinge being substantially flush with the surfaces of the wall and bottom in both vertical and horizontal positions.

2. A hinge having open and closed positions, comprising a pintle member; and a channel memher; said pintle member including a body portion, a tongue extending outwardly from said body portion, and a pintle secured to said tongue and spaced from said body portion; the channel member being substantially like a J in cross section, so as to have a base, and a long arm and a short arm, said arms being perpendicular to and at opposite sides of said base; said channel member having a channel disposed along part of the length of the long arm and across part of the base, to slidably accommodate the tongue, the tongue extending through the channel, the pintle being disposed on the inner side of the J-shaped channel member and the body portion being disposed on the outer side of said channel member; the parts being so constructed and arranged that, when said hinge is in its closed position, the tongue extends through that part of the channel which is disposed along the long arm, and, when the hinge is in its open position, the tongue extends through that part of the channel which is disposed across the base.

3. A hinge to swinga-bly fasten the lower edge of a vertical wall of a box to the horizontal bottom of said box, comprising a pintle member; and a channel member; said pintle member including a body portion secured to the upper surface of said bottom, and a horizontally extending tongue, said tongue sustaining a horizontally disposed pintle; said channel member extending along the inner surface and lower edge of the wall aforesaid and secured thereto, said channel member being provided. with a channel along said inner surface and lower edge; the tongue extending through said channel, the body portion aforesaid being on one side of said channel member and the pintle being on the other; the .pintle and tongue being at substantially the upper end of said channel, and the lower surface of the channel member being in the same plane as the lower surface of the bottom, when the wall is in its vertical position; the wall being swingable downwardly to a horizontal position, in which position the pintle is at substantially the other end of said channel and the outer surface of the wall and the lower surface of the bottom are in the same plane.

4. A hinge having opened and closed .positions, comprising a pintle member; and a channel member; said pintle member including a body ,portion, a tongue extending outwardly from said body portion, and a pintle secured to said tongue and spaced from said body portion; the channel member having a base, and an arm, said arm being perpendicular to said base; said channel member having a channel disposed along part of the length of the arm and across part of the base, to slidably accommodate the tongue, the tongue extending through the channel, the pintle being disposed on the inner side of the channel member and the body portion being disposed on the outer side of said channel member; the parts being so constructed and arranged that, when said hinge is in itsyclosed position, the tongue extends through that part of the channel which is disposed along the arm, and, when the hinge is in its open position, the tongue extends through that part of the channel which is disposed across the base.

SIDNEY T. V. COWEN. 

